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Monday, December 16, 2013

Ritzy Cheddar Baked Chicken

Here's a fun recipe that is different but so easy for a weeknight. This gorgeous chicken is baked with a cheesy, crunchy, buttery crust and topped with a yummy sauce that couldn't be simpler. It's sure to beat your regular old "oven baked chicken" with a lively cheddar flavor, a crispy exterior coating, and that juicy interior that you love. Once of my children is a cheese-o-phobe (umm.. is that a word?), and HE even polished his off! You know what you call that? Winner winner chicken dinner!!! :)

As a matter of fact, just look at the ingredient list. These are things you probably have on hand in the fridge or pantry right now!

Step-by-Step:Prep: Crush your Ritz crackers in a large ziptop bag. This is a great job to let the kids help you with. As you can see, Lily just home from dance class. But there's no way she was going to miss out on something like pounding and crushing! Changing clothes would just have to wait!

Trim your chicken breasts of fat and season well. I used kosher salt, black pepper, and Italian seasoning. Use whatever you prefer.

Coat your chicken in the sour cream, then the cheese, and finally the crackers.

If you are thinking "hmmm... that doesn't look like sour cream" you would be right. It's milk. I tried that first. It didn't work well. So I regrouped and swapped it out for a reduced fat sour cream. That worked like a charm.So you are just going to have to pretend that it's sour cream in the photo (since I forgot to take another one).

shredded cheddar

Get as much or little of the cheese on the chicken as you would like.

Ritz and parsley crumb coating

PRESS the cheddar coated chicken into the cracker crumbs until well coated. Turns out, cracker crumbs worked beautifully for a coating! And the dried parsley in there look gorgeous!

Set them on your baking sheet. Here are some options. I am using this
silicone mat that has all of these little ridges. It keeps the chicken
raised up, allowing fats etc to run away from the meat while allowing
the hot air to circulate underneath. And nothing sticks to it. Cool, huh? You could also put
your chicken on a cooling rack set into a sheet pan. Other options?
Line your pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. OR... spray your
sheet pan with nonstick spray.

Bake 400 x about 35 min or until internal digital thermometer reaches 160 degrees. The temperature of the meat will continue to rise to 165 when you remove from the oven. Allow it to rest 5 minutes.

See the thermometer sticking out of the chicken on the right side of the photo?Do yourself a favor and buy one of these instant read thermometers.
They take all the guesswork out of it so you can have juicy cooked
chicken that is not under or overcooked! (Ask Santa for one!)

Now for a super quick sauce -

Combine all the sauce ingredients and stir until hot. Okay, so I know you may be skeptical. But give it a shot! It's creamy and tangy, and dill goes extremely well with chicken. Even my little kids loved it!

1 can cream of chicken soup

2 Tbsp sour cream

3 Tbsp butter

1/4 tsp dried dill

2 tsp dried parsley

1 tsp dill pickle juice

- and here it is!That simple!

Now. Let's put all this together and see what we come up with.

I hope you enjoyed this recipe! It was a fun recipe to make on a busy weeknight. If you are curious as to what else I have up my sleeve, pop on over to my Recipe Index and have a look! You are sure to find some great recipes to make with/for your family.

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Here's just one delicious example - Spicy Roasted Chickpeas. A great snack!

Crush
your Ritz crackers in a large ziptop bag. This is a great job to let
the kids help you with. Make yourself a "breading" station of sorts:
1. Low fat sour cream or Greek yogurt. 2. Freshly shredded sharp
cheddar cheese. 3. Crushed up Ritz crackers with the added dried
parsley.

Trim
your chicken breasts of fat and season well. I used kosher salt, black
pepper, and Italian seasoning. Use whatever you prefer.

Coat
your chicken in the sour cream, then the cheese, and finally the
crackers. Set them on your baking sheet. Here are some options. I am
using this silicone mat that has all of these little ridges. It keeps
the chicken raised up, allowing fats etc to run away from the meat while
allowing the hot air to circulate underneath. Cool, huh? You could
also put your chicken on a cooling rack set into a sheet pan. Other
options? Line your pan with parchment paper or aluminum foil. OR...
spray your sheet pan with nonstick spray.

Bake
400 x about 35 min or until internal digital thermometer reaches 160
degrees. Will continue to rise to 165 when you remove from the oven.
Allow to rest 5 minutes. Do yourself a favor and buy one of these
instant read thermometers. They take all the guesswork out of it so you
can have juicy cooked chicken that is not under or overcooked! (Ask
Santa for one!)

What!? How is this so delicious? So easy to throw together. You're right, my five year old loved smashing the Ritz crackers. The sauce was such a surprise. I don't really care for dill, but this didn't taste like DILL. It was such a subtle flavor. Everyone, even the one year old, devoured it. Thanks for the great, very easy recipe.

Mine is in the oven now. I didn't have sour cream or Greek yogurt so i used mayo with a little mustard mixed in...that's what my grandma uses. Hopefully it turns out good! Making some wild rice and green beans on the side.

Since the chicken is already rich, I like to do steamed or roasted veggies as one side. Have you tried flavored rice packets? Just a question, as they are pretty no-fail. ... or maybe your family would enjoy the chicken sliced over pasta?

About Me

I am a prototypical modern American mom. I am retired professor of Anatomy & Physiology at a private Christian University, and mother to four beautiful children (3 boys and 1 girl). I am also a food blogger, cookbook author, and have owned my own cafe. My background is a PhD in Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience with emphasis on antioxidant research. My postdoctoral training was in human obesity and caloric restriction.

I grew up in South Louisiana where the best food in the world is routinely brought from the garden and the water, and put on the table. Everyone in my family of origin is a wonderful cook, so I guess it is just natural that I show my love to my family through food.

I love cooking and eating... and teaching my children the art and techniques of being in the kitchen. My mother taught me that there is always SOME part of the cooking process that even small children can help with...so my kids are indeed very familiar with the kitchen, the kitchen tools, use of homegrown herbs, etc.